Ask Chef Walter: Turbot Fillet with Cannellini Beans – Walter Potenza

by Chef Walter Potenza, contributing writer

Hello dear readers: this week, I am featuring a recipe with Turbot, a very versatile fish that appears in many restaurants nationally and can certainly make it to your dinner table. Simple to prepare and enriched with lots of flavors. Cooking fish at home leaves many with questions. Keep it simple and practice to get it perfect and prepare a healthy meal for you and your family.

Turbot Fillet with Cannellini Beans

Serves 4

In this recipe you may use dry Porcini Mushroom, mainly because fresh Porcini are now out of season. The advantage of the dried type is that they are much stronger in flavor, so you can use less. Speed things up by using canned Cannellini Beans, with very low sodium which you can mostly remove by rinse them in cold water and add to the dish. 

(Porcini can be substituted with white domestic mushrooms).

Ingredients

Directions

Drain the beans, and place them in a pot. Add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches, and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 45 minutes. When the beans are done, drain them, and reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Set the beans aside, and keep warm. In a large skillet, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Adjust the flavors of the turbot with salt and pepper, and place them in the skillet. Saute until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over, and cook another 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms in half. In another skillet over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the mushrooms, and saute until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Adjust the flavors with salt and pepper, and add the string beans and the cannellini beans and the reserved cooking liquid. Simmer for 2 minutes, and then stir in the lemon juice and the chopped herbs.

Spoon the bean mixture on the center of 4 plates and lay the turbot fillets on top. Garnish with whole herbs and serve hot.

Info on Turbot

Turbot are flatfish, having an asymmetric but mostly round and thin body that blends in well with the ocean floor. They are often referred to as “left-sided,” as their eyes are on the left side of their head. Most purchasable Turbot weigh only a few pounds but specimens can reach up to 50 lbs (22 kg.). They have a speckled appearance to help them camouflage, and do not have scales.

The flesh of the flatfish is a bright white color, which does not usually darken with cooking. They are prized for their delicate flavor, and are common in European cuisine. Since 1970, turbot have been farmed along coastal waters, both near their native habitats and in foreign countries such as Chile and China.

In the 1990s, a dispute over fishing practices lead to an incident known as the Turbot War. After cod fishing was banned due to severely depleted stocks, nations began fishing heavily for the plentiful flatfish, which exist in massive numbers in Canadian waters. Canada’s government quickly became furious that its territorial waters were being used by illegal vessels that often employed fishing equipment that did not meet Canadian standards.

Turbot are found in many cuisines, with common recipes involving boiling, poaching or frying the fish to bring out its delicate flavor. If you wish to try eating this fish, be sure to find out the method in which the fish are caught. Supporting industries that uphold sustainable fishing practices is an excellent way to enjoy the foods you like while ensuring that no damage is done to the ecosystem or environment.

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 Emilia Romagna Food Tour May 12 – 19, 2025

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www.chefwalterscookingschool.com

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Meet Chef Walter!

There is a constant, recognizable thread in the career of Walter Potenza to elevate the level of Italian culinary culture in the United States. Besides his unquestionable culinary talent and winning business perspective, Chef Walter has been a relentless educator with passion and knowledge who defeats stereotypes. His life, career, and values are a model, an example to follow by any chef of Italian gastronomy working outside Italy.  

Chef Walter appears regularly on National and International Networks such as Food Network, ABC, CBS, NBC, RAI, FOX, and Publications such as NY. Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Saveur, Gourmet, and several Italian media outlets.  And now – RINewsToday!